André Juneau, Past President of IIAT, Dead at 47
André P. Juneau, senior vice president of Nieman Hanks Puryear, a division of Frost Insurance Agency Inc., Austin, and former president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas, died early Feb. 14 in Austin. He was 47.
Juneau, who died after a brief stay at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House following a year-long battle with cancer, was an energetic and popular industry leader, and a hugely successful insurance executive who remained actively involved in the agency and association until a couple of weeks ago.
“This is a sad day for André’s family and his wide, wide circle of friends throughout Texas. He will be greatly missed as a wonderful friend. His work and accomplishments have raised the bar to a higher level of professional standards,” said Randy Reynolds, IIAT president.
“I’ve had the grand pleasure of knowing and working with André as a colleague and good friend for 15 years. His influence on me and on our industry will be felt for a long time,” said David VanDelinder, IIAT executive director.
Juneau worked for the Nieman Hanks Puryear agency since 1982, shortly after graduating from the University of Texas with a major in insurance. He had interned in the agency during his senior year at UT. Almost immediately he began work toward professional designations, garnering the CPCU, CIC, ARM and CRM designations over the next 20 years.
Throughout his career he was active in numerous civic organizations, including serving as president of the Capitol Area Food Bank.
Juneau received multiple awards for his association work at the local and state levels. In 1995 he was selected as Texas Young Agent of the Year. He became an IIAT director in 1999 and was elected president in 2002. Most recently, Juneau oversaw the work of the governance task force that restructured the association’s committees and redefined the board’s role. Just this year, he was honored with the Distinguished Service Award by his fellow agents in Austin.
Juneau was married to his high school sweetheart, Laura, for 23 years. They have three children: Nicole, 17; Natalie, 15; and Clay, 7.
A memorial service will be held Feb.16 at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, Austin. Memorials may be sent to Young Men’s Business League’s Austin Sunshine Camps (www.sunshinecamps.org),Mobile Loaves and Fishes (www.mlfnow.org) or Hospice Austin’s Christopher House (www.hospiceaustin.org).